Knitted fabric



Dec. 15, 1936. J. McNAMEE 2,064,074

KNITTED FABRIC Filed Nov. 15, 1955 5 SheetsSheet 1 //VV/V 70;? HQ. LZAMEE ME/VAMEE 4 7'7'0R/VEY J. M NAMEE KNITTED FABRIC Dec. 15, 1936.

Filed Nov. 15, 1935 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 //Vl /V 7-02 JAMES 2%" AMEE I KM47-7-0RNEY Dec. 15, 1936. J. McNAMEE KNITTED FABRIC 5 Sheets-Sheet 3Filed Nov. 15, 1935 //Vl EN 7-0;? JAMES ML'ZVAMEE I W ATTORNEY Dec. .15,1936. J. MCNAMEI; 2,064,074

KNITTED FABRI C Filed Nov. 15, 1955 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 //v1//v 7-0;? 1/AMES MC/VAMEE fly WOXW ATT RNEY Dec. 15, 1936. J. McNAMEE 2,064,074

KNITTED FABRIC Filed Nov. 15, 1935 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 //v I/E/V TOR l7AME5 M/VAMEE 4 7' TOR/V5) Patented Dec.'15, 1936 v I Z.,064,074

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE K KNITTED FABRIC James McNamee, BallstonSpa, N. Ya ,I Application November. 15, 1935, Serial No. 49,948 I 4Claims. (01. 66169) My invention more particularly relates to a whichmachine is designed to fabricate the yarn yarn composed of amultiplicity of threads, prefof Fig.- 1;

- erably 'two in number, which are interconnected Fig. 4 is afragmentary, front elevation view in such a manner as to provide'a yarnwhich is of the machine shown in Fig. 3; 5 characterized by itsdurability, flexibility, resiL- Fig. 5 is a fragmentary, detail view ofan adiency and adaptability for use with weaving or justable form of acam for controlling the moveknitting machines. ment of the thread guidebars; My invention has for a further object the pro- Fig. 6 is afragmentary view of the main cam vision of ayarn of theforegoingcharacter formed shaft, illustrating some of the cams mountedof two yarns, which is comparatively simple to thereon; 4 v 10 fabricateand isrrelatively much stronger than Fig. 7 is a detail view of theneedles and an two yarns, taken together, having an equivalentassociated cam control} a 7 weight per unit of'length. My yarn is alsodis- Fig. 8 illustrates the presser bar-and one of its tinguished by thefact that a breakage of one of associated controls the individualthreads of which it is composed, Fig. 9 illustrates the cast-offmechanism and 15 due to the novel structural arrangement thereof, one ofits cam controls; is localized and the effectupon the appearance Fig. 10illustrates the control mechanism for of the yarn does not extend anappreciable extent the shaft which carries the thread guide bars; alongthe same. Furthermore, the tendency to Figs. 11, 12, 13, 14, 1 5, 16 and17 represent 20 run or become discomposed, which is prevalentdiagrammatically successive, relative positions in ordinary fabrics, isabsent in a fabric made of the various cooperating elements for onecycle from a yarn embodying my invention. of operation thereof infabricating the yarn; and Afurther object of my invention resides-inpro- Fig. 18 is a schematic representation of the viding a yarn in whichthe individual threads manner in which the threads are placed aroundforming the same may be of different colors and the needles in theformation of the yarn. 25 wherein, due to the construction involved,these It will be noted from an inspection of Fig. 1

colors are intimately associated and blended to that my yarn, in itspreferred form, comprises produce a resultant yarn coloration which issuba double series of interconnected loops or stitches..

stantially uniform to all outward appearances. This structure may bereadily created by a ma- A still further object of my invention resideschine employing the principles of knitting and,

in the provision of a fabric which is formed with for this purpose, Ihave illustrated a. machine a yarn of the foregoing character whichfabric which is adapted and designed to knit and intersimulates theappearance-of a hand-made article connect two threads in the mannerhereinafter and which is' unbiased. In other words, the described.

fabric inherently lacks any tendency to curl or The yarn, indicatedgenerally at II, in Fig. 1 warp, a reason for which being attributableto is composed of two threads, indicated at l and 2. the character ofthe yarn employed in fabricat- Thread], for purposes of describing thestrucing the same. tural formation of the yarn, is formed into a firstWith these and other objects in view, my'inloop 3, which may bedesignated as lying onone 40 vention includes the novel arrangement oftwo side of the yarn, a second loop 4, which may be 40 or more threadsto form a composite yarn and said to be on the other side, and then thefurther the fabric which is made therefrom together with ,loops 5 and 6,said loops lying respectively on their equivalent structure's, describedbelow and alternate sides of the yarn. Likewise, thread 2 illustrated inthe accompanying drawings in is formed into a first loop I, a secondloop 8, a

whichthird loop- 9 andfa fourth loop Ill, loops 1 and 9 45 Fig. 1 is ahighly magnified and somewhat lying on a side oppositeto that of theloops 8 and distorted view of my yarn; l0. It will be seen that thesecond loop 8 of Fig. 2 is a fragmentary, schematic view of a thread 2isv looped through the first loop 3'01.v knitted fabric formed from theyarn illustrated thread I and that the second loop 4 of thread l 5 inFig. 1; is looped .through the first loop 1 of thread 2.

Fig. 2a is a fragmentary, schematic view of a This process is continuedin forming my yarn woven fabric formed from the yarn illustrated in as,for example, the third loop 9 of thread Fig. 1; 2 is looped through thesecond loop 4 of Fig. 3 is a side elevation of a machine with thread land the third loop 5' of thread I is u some of the operating mechanismsremoved, looped through the second loop-8 of thread 2. In

the practical method of fabricating a yarn of this character, thesuccessive loops of each thread are formed on alternate knitting needlesas hereinafter specifically described.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that the yarn is composed of aseries of loops formed from two separate threads, successive loops ofone thread being passed through successive loops of the other andforming two, closely associated rows or series of knitted orsubstantially chainlike stitches. Hence, it will be evident that in theevent of the rupture of one thread, the other thread will serve to bindthe ends of the broken thread in place and prevent a progressivecollapse of the yarn structure. This feature is very desirable in yarnsand particularly in yarns of the general construction herein disclosed.

In the finished product, the yarn, of -course, does not appear the sameas that illustrated in the drawings as the yarn in the drawings issomewhat distorted'for the sake of clearness. Actually, the yarn issubstantially of uniform size throughout and in cross-section may besaid to be polygonal or approximately rectangular.

Due to the successively inter-looped, structural arrangement of my yarn,it is characterized by its durability, as above indicated in referenceto rupture, flexibility and resiliency. In flexing the yarn, each loopis moved relative to the adjacent loops as in the manner of hinges.Hence, in many cases, a much smaller loop may be formed by my yarn thanmay be formed by a single thread of which it is composed. This, ofcourse, is dependent upon the character of the thread used; but, thecharacter of the threads of which my yarn is primarily intended to befabricated, such, for example, as silk, rayon and the like, has beendetermined to be less flexible than the yarn made therefrom inconformity with my invention. Obviously, in comparing the yarn with athread of equivalent weight per unit of length, the differencetherebetween in flexibility is very marked.

The resiliency of the yarn'is also attributable to the interloopedconstruction and, furthermore, this construction renders the yarninherently unbiased so that, when made into a fabric, the fabric doesnot curl or warp but is comparatively soft and pliable.

I have for convenience referred in the claims to wales. It is to beunderstood that such wales refer to the chain-like stitches of thecharacter above referred to and which are displaced from each otherlaterally of the yarn.

In' Fig. 2 I have illustrated, by way of example, a knitted fabric inwhich my yarn is used. The fabric is indicated generally at I02 and isformed in the well known manner by interlooping the yarn I ill to formsuccessive stitches. And in Fig. 2a I have illustrated a woven fabric,indicated generally at I03 which also is made in the usual manner.

The machine which I have illustrated as one means of fabricating my yarnmay be best understood by reference to Figs. 3 and 4 wherein the generaldisposition of the cooperating elements employed in knitting the yarn isillustrated. Referring first to Fig. 3, H indicates generally the frameof the machine which comprises a bed portion l2 and standards l3extending upwardly at each end thereof. Each standard I3 is formed withlaterally extending arms l3l, I32, I33 and I34 adapted to support thespools of thread l4 and I5 and the thread tensioning devices l6 and IT.The thread extending from the SPOO S a d the desired tension on thethreads.

I5 is represented by the dot-dash lines it and I9 and is illustrated aspassing over the-tensioning devices l6 and II, respectively, which, inthe embodiment illustrated, comprises shafts extending transversely ofthe machine and helical springs are employed for the purpose of imposingFrom the tensioning devices, the threads are brought downwardly andthreaded through holes or eyes provided in the guide bars indicatedgenerally at 20. For example, thread I8 is passed through the eye 2|provided in the rear guide bar 2M and thread I! is passed through theeye 22 of the front bar 202. Obviously, the threads extend from theguide bars to the work or yarn contained on the needles.

The guide bars 20 are disposed in a double row transversely of themachine, the disposition thereof being shown in Figs. 3 and 4 which areviews taken at right angles. A suitable number of guide bars are securedin proper spaced relationship in each of the blocks 23 which in turn aresecured along two similar frames 24, one of which is disposed behind andsubstantially parallel with the other. The frames are designed to besupported on, movable by and movable relative to rocker arms 25. Thisconstruction is afforded by means of angle plates 26, secured to frames24, which are provided with pins 21 adapted to extend through openingsin the rocker arm 25. The rocker arm 25 is likewise provided with pins28 which extend through openings in the angle plate 26.

It would be well to note at this point that my machine is symmetricallyarranged as regards the supporting and operating elements of the stitchforming mechanisms.

similar to arm 25. Because of similarity, there-' fore, approximately ahalf only of the machine has been illustrated and, it is believed, adescription of this portion will sumce when read with the understandingthat it is applicable to both halves of the machine. It should also benoted that only a few of the needles, guide bars and associatedmechanisms are illustrated because, in each case, they are duplicatesand a. description of one is suiiicient for all. Obviously, the numberemployed depends upon the number of yarns that are being made at onetime on the machine.

The rocker arms 25 are secured to a shaft 29 extending transversely ofthe machine and journaled in bearings 30 depending from the arms I34. Acam controlled arm 2| (see Fig. 4) here inafter specifically described,is secured to shaft 29 and serves to efl'ect an oscillatory rotationthereof to move the guide bars back and forth relative to the needles.

The frames 24 are provided at one end with slotted openings 32 withinwhich are secured links 33 which serve to connect frames 24 to theoperating means for eflecting a predetermined movement thereoftransversely of the machine. The main cam shaft 34 which extendstransversely of and is journaled in the bed of the machine is providedat one end with a worm 35 which meshes with a worm wheel 36, indicatedin a dotted lines in Fig. 4. Worm wheel 36 is secured on a shaft 31which is journalled in the brackets 38 which may be cast integrally withthe frame l2, Shaft 31 has secured thereon two cams 39 and40 which areengaged by the arms of bell cranks 4| and 42, respectively, which arepivoted on a shaft 43 secured between the brackets 33. To the other armsof the bell cranks are respectively connected the links 33. The worm andwheel transmit motion from the main cam shaft 34 to shaft 3] and therotation of cams 33 and 40 effect through the bell cranks 4| and 42 andlinks 33 an independent reciprocating movement of the. frames 24transversely of the machine. This movement is intermittent due to theslotted construction of the frames with which the links cooperate andis, obviously, timed with relation to the other moving parts. of themachine. Furthermore, the weight of the arms of cranks 4| and 42maintain the same in engagement with their operating cams.

The cams 39 and 40 may be constructed in the manner illustrated in Fig.5 wherein the degree of movement of the guide bars transversely ofthemachine may be varied and adjusted by the set screws 39| which formthe cam surface.

The guide bars, above described, are adapted to cooperate with and guidethe passage of the threads about the needles, indicated at 44, which.are disposed in a single row transversely of the machine. Fig. 7illustrates the manner in which the needles are supported and controlledto move. it beingunderstocd that the needles are disposed to extendvertically between the bars of the castoff mechanism, hereinafterdescribed, and are actuated in a substantially vertical direction. Byreferring to Fig. 7 it will be seen that the needles 44 are suitablysecured in frames 45 which are supported on needle arms or cranks 46,pivoted on a shaft 41. Shaft 41 is supported in the frame H and extendstransversely of the machine to provide a pivot for the needle arms andthe operating arm for the shaft 29 which supports the guide bars. Thereare preferably two needle arms 46 each of which is connected adjacent anend of the needle frames and the description of one is sufficient forboth. The needle arm 46 is provided with two diametrically opposedrollers 48 and 48|, disposed on opposite sides thereof and adapted tocontact identically formed earns 49 whereby a positively controlledmovement is transmitted to the needles. Cams 49,are keyed on the camshaft 34 and effect through the medium of the comparatively long needlearms 46 a predetermined, substantially vertical movement of the needles.

Fig. 8 illustrates the presser bar 50 and one of its two similarsupporting and actuating mechanisms. The-presser bar extendstransversely of the machine adjacent the needles and is actuated topress against the beards thereof during a predetermined portion of thecycle of operation of the stitch forming mechanisms. The presser bar 50is suitably secured to a rocker arm 5| which is pivotally mounted on ashaft 52 extending transversely of the machine. A roller 53 rotatablymounted on the arm 5| is engaged by a cam 54 mounted on cam shaft 34.The roller is urged in contact with cam 54 by a tension spring 55 whichis secured between a pin 55 on arm 5| and a stud 51 secured in atransverse member of the bed I2.

In Fig. 9 is illustrated one of the two similar supporting and actuatingdevices for the cast-off mechanism indicated generally at 58. Thecastofi mechanism comprises a series of bifurcated vanes 59 extending inspaced, parallel relation- I ship transversely of the machine. Thesevanes are disposed to permit the needles 44 to reciprocatetherebetweenand, preferably, a needle is accommodated in each space between adjacenting the same.

vanes. The reentrant portion ll in the vanes,

stitches being cast oil over the. lip of the upper and shorter branch ofthe vanes and being caught thereunder. The cast-off mechanism 58 issuitably secured to two bell cranks 6|, rotatabiy supported on a shaft62 which extends transversely of the machine and is suitably supportedin the.

frame l2 thereof. Each bell crank ii is provided with a roller 83 whichengages a cam 64 secured to the cam shaft 34 whereby the desiredmovement of the cast-ofi mechanism is effected. A tension spring 55 isconnected between one arm 6 of the bell crank II and a stud ,6|'2secured in a transverse member of the frame l2 to maintain the roller 33in engagement with its cooperating cam 64.

The cam drive for effecting an oscillatory movement of the guide bars20, hereinbefore described, is illustrated inFig. 10. The arm 3| whichis secured to shaft 29 is connected to an arm 65 through a flexiblecouplingindicated generally at Gill and comprising a pin pivoted to arm3| and sl-idably mounted in a slot in arm 66. Cams 61, secured tocamshaft 34, engage rollers 88 and 59, respectively, which are mountedon the arm 65 and are adapted to engage the cams on diametrigather withthe means for supporting and actuating the same. Their dispositionsrelative to each other and to the frame of the machine may be readilyunderstood from an inspection of Figs. 3and 4. g I 4 Furthermore, inFig. 6, I have'shown a fragmentary portion of the cam shaft 34 with someof the cams mounted thereon, it being understood that. with theexception of the guide bar cams which are mounted substantially in themiddle of the shaft, the balance of the cams are duplicates of thoseillustrated and are disposed in inverse order on the shaft from itsmiddle toward the end. A pulley SM is illustrated mounted on the end ofshaft 34 over which may be reeved a belt for driv- The cooperation ofthe stitch forming or knitting elements of my machine and their mannerof operation .in fabricating my yarn will best be understood byreference to Figs. 11 to 17, inclusive, which respectively illustratethe elements in consecutive positions during one cycle of their knittingoperation. It should be remembered that the elements are operated fromthe same cam shaft and that the actuating cams for each eler-ent aredesigned to effect a timed operation thereof relative to the otherelements. Furthermore, it is to be understood that in the formation of asingle yarn two needles and two guide bars are utilized, the two guidebars being, at the beginning of a cycle, disposed in a plane extendingbe,-

tween the two needles with which they cooperate and at right angles tothe plane of the needles.

Referring first to Fig. 1'1,.the elements are illustratcd in thepositions which they assume at the beginning of a stitch forming cycle.It will be understood that the other needle employed in forming the yarnis directly back of the needle illustrated and therefore does notappear. Assuming that the last loops of the yarn encircle the twoneedles N, a first thread thereof extends upwardly through the eye 21 inthe guide bar and, as shown in Fig. 3, over the tensioning device IE tospool H. The second thread extends through the eye 22 of guide bar 202and over the tensioning device I! to spool IS. The guide bars 20 aremoved between the two needles toward the left as viewed in Figs. 12 and13. This movement is produced through an'operation of cam 61 whicheffects a rotation of shaft 29 upon which the guide bars are supported.Cams 39 and 40 then effect a movement of the two bars transversely ofthe machine in opposite directions and into planes through which theymay be moved back on the outside of the needles and to the positionillusthen, at or slightly before the termination of movement of theguide bars, moved upwardly thereby causing-the loops to pass downwardlyon the needles and below the beards thereof. Thereafter, the needlesdescend and the loop of thread on each needle passes under the beardthereof.

As the needles continue to descend and immedi ately before the beardsengage the last formed loop of the yarn which is around the needles andapproximately in the plane of the reentrant portions of the cast-of!mechanism, the presser bar 50 is urged against said beards therebycausing said loops of the yarn to pass thereover. As the presser bar iswithdrawn from engagement with the needles, the cast-off mechanism 58 ismoved to the left, as shown in Fig. 16 so that as the needles passbeneath the upper branch of the bifurcated element-59 the loops of yarnare cast off over the top of the needle and over the lip of the castvoffmechanism. The needles continue to descend and the cast-of! mechanismmoves toward the right to the position shown in Fig. 17,

, vane disposed intermediate the two needles. needles 44 then moveupwardly to the position thereby preventing the work from riding up withthe needles. In other words, the threads extending between the loopsformed on the two needles are caught in the. reentrant portion of theThe shown in Fig. 11 in readiness for substantially a repetition of theforegoing cycle. The above described operation of the stitchformingmechanism discloses the manner in which one of the threads isknitted on one of the needles and the other on the other needle.However, the yarn of my invention comprises two threads which areknitted together to form alternateloops in the double row of stitches ofwhich the yarn is composed. In the stitch forming cycle following theone above described, therefore, the guide bars are again moved betweenthe needles to the position illustrated in Fig. 13 and are again movedtransversely of the machine but in a direction opposite to thatdescribed above. m other words, the first thread A which in the abovedescribed cycle was passed. around the needle has shown in Fig. 18 is,in the second cycle, passed around the adjacent needle 2 and the secondthread B, which passed around the last mentioned needle in the firstcycle, is passed around the needle J. The above described cycles ofoperation are successively repeated and a yarn having the structurehereinbefore described is produced. 7

When myyam is, for example, madeintoaknitted fabric, the result producedsimulates a hand made article which is much more attractive than anequivalent machine made article. Furthermore, due to the novelconstruction of my yarn, a fabric formed therefrom is unbiased; that is,it lacks any tendency to curi or warp, a characteristic which is verydesirable in a fabric which is to be usedin the manufacture of garmentsand similar articles. l

It should also be noted that a great many colors and shades may beproduced in my yarns by selecting the desired combination of coloredthreads used in fabricating the same. Likewise, this wide range ofcolors is obtainable in the fabrics made from my yarns. Furthermore, theresultant'color of the yarn has a much better aesthetic appearance thanfor example, a twisted yarnformed from threads of the same coloration.This result is due to the fact that the two threads are intimatelyjoined together to form minute, succesive loops of alternate colors.Obviously, in the fabric formed from a yarn of my .construction, the

coloration of the individual threads of which the yarn is composed isnot readily ascertainable and the fabric appears to be of substantiallyuniform coloration. i

It is to be understood that my yarn may be, if desired, composed ofthree or more threads joined For example, a very important applicationof fabrics made from a yarn of the character set forth extends to thetire industry. Because of the great flexibility and strength of thefabric, which characteristics are derived from the yai'n of which it iscomposed, it is admirably adapted for use in the base of a rubber-tire.Furthermore, the comparatively pervious character of the fabric and alsothe yarn itself permits a very v intimate bond to be formed between itand the rubber which is applied thereto.

A further important feature resides in the fact that a woven fabricembodying my invention has a resiliency in all directions that hashitherto been enjoyed in part only by knitted fabrics.

While I have described my novel yarn in its preferred embodiment and arepresentative woven and knitted fabric formed therefrom, it is to beunderstoodthat the words are descriptive and the illustrations exemplaryand, hence-"changes within the purview of the appended claims may bemade without departing from the true scope and spirit of my invention inits broader aspects.

What I claim is: I

1. A knitted fabric composed of a plurality of interknitted yarn loopsthe yarn of which consists of two threads forming only two wales, theloops of the two threads alternating in a given wale.

2. A knitted fabric composed of a plurality of interknitted loops theyarn of which consists of two threads forming only two wales, a loopofone thread being disposed in and interconnected with one of said walesand the next succeeding loop of said thread being disposed in andinterconnected with the other of said wales.

3. A knitted fabric composed o fa plurality of interlmitted yarn loopsthe yarn of which consists of two threads forming only two wales, a'loopof one thread being disposed in and interconnected with one of saidwales and the next succeeding loop of said thread being disposed in andinterccnmected with the. other of said wales and in a predeterminedsequence.

JAMES MCNAMEE.

